The Lions could be getting a little help for Calvin Johnson at wide receiver as they try to bounce back from their loss to Pittsburgh this weekend.

Nate Burleson said Tuesday that he feels like he’s ready to return to the lineup, which comes one day after coach Jim Schwartz said Burleson could return from a broken arm against the Buccaneers. Burleson hasn’t received medical clearance yet, but he suggested it’s the only thing standing in his way.

“I feel like I can go out there and be productive,” Burleson said, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. “I caught the ball last week very well, ran some routes, had some physical contact. So this week is taking another step. Hopefully a full week of practice without any setbacks, this was around the date of my anticipated return anyway. Everything else was just going to be a bonus, me trying to rush back on the field, but I’m doing everything I can. We’ll see what happens this week.”

Kris Durham is the only non-Megatron receiver that has more catches than Burleson, but he’s averaging under three catches a game while Burleson raced up 19 in just three weeks. Getting that kind of option back would be big for a Lions offense that could use as many dimensions as possible as they try to make it to the playoffs.

Detroit vs. EverybodyClowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

November 20th, 2013, 10:07 am

yostevo

Heisman Winner

Joined: March 28th, 2005, 7:50 pmPosts: 821Location: Burbs of De-town

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Alls I can say is that if they don't win, Schwartz is walking on thin ice with an elephant on his back.

November 20th, 2013, 10:45 am

thelomasbrowns

Player of the Year - Offense

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2871

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I just don't know what to think of this team. The talent is there. It's just a matter of whether it can overcome stupid mistakes and play. As others have said, we could win any game, but we could lose any game.

_________________"Good teams don't worry about a whole lot of stuff. They travel, they play, they win. And it doesn't matter where they go, what the time block is, all those kinds of things. They never seem to bother teams that play well, and we want to be one of those teams." -Jim Caldwell

November 20th, 2013, 10:57 am

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 10024Location: Dallas

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa has won their last two, however, I just have a gut feeling that the Lions are due to really put someone away.

Bucs have a beastly offensive line and somewhat decent QB play because of how good vincent Jackson is. I dont know who'll win, but unless we limit Jackson in some way, get some pressure and stop the run I think they keep it close.

November 20th, 2013, 12:38 pm

Blueskies

QB Coach - Brian Callahan

Joined: September 13th, 2007, 12:43 pmPosts: 3121

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Simply cannot afford to lose. Tampa Bay is terrible, and you just dropped a game you should've won. If they lose this game, given that McCown looks OK, I think they'll drop the division to Chicago.

November 20th, 2013, 1:35 pm

chilledmonkeybrains

Junior Varsity

Joined: March 11th, 2010, 4:39 pmPosts: 198

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I believe they'll keep it close too for the same reasons. Our secondary is just not good (put CJ in at corner just to scare Glennon!). I do think the D-line is quite impressive holding Pit to FGs in the redzone, would LOVE to get Ansah back for the game too. Goldson being suspended will be good. Hopefully we win and Chicago loses to St. Louis to put us back in the drivers seat. I will be so pissed if we lose the division to the Bears after sweeping them. Whats the status on Rodgers? I hate to say it but if he plays we will lose Lions 28Bucs 24

_________________Slow is smooth, smooth is steady, steady is fast!

November 20th, 2013, 1:40 pm

TheRealWags

Megatron

Joined: December 31st, 2004, 9:55 amPosts: 12534

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

PFT wrote:

Lions linemen tell Bucs to bring it on victory formationPosted by Darin Gantt on November 20, 2013, 12:38 PM EST

The Buccaneers aren’t blitzing victory formations as often as they have in the past — though that doesn’t mean they’re winning more.

But a couple of Lions offensive linemen welcome the opportunity for the Bucs to try to blow up the middle of their line while sealing a win.

“Get in shotgun and cut them,” center Dominic Raiola said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Seriously. I mean, I think about it. I thought about that when they did it the first time. You get in shotgun and you just, as low that they go, really all you got to do is get the snap back.”

The Bucs have seen the victory formation in five of their eight losses, but haven’t attacked it vigorously every time. They did it against the Cardinals, knocking Carson Palmer down in a 13-10 loss in September. Kicker Jay Feely tweeted after that game that Bucs linemen apologized for the tactic.

Since the Eagles and Falcons went to the shotgun in those situations, the Bucs didn’t blitz.

Raiola was pragmatic about the function of the play, saying “If you’re in the game, why not do it?” And left guard Rob Sims was likewise ambivalent about the ethics, after the Lions won a game on a fake spike against the Cowboys.

“It’s going to be what it is,” Sims said. “I’ve been saying people are going to start keying that kind of stuff. When we’re supposed to just down it and do all that kind of stuff, people are going to take advantage of that now that they’ve seen us play like that, and so be it.

“Hopefully, we do get in victory and that’s one play, and they come up and do what they do, and we walk out of that locker room [with a win]. . . . I’ll take it all day. Victory formation? Yeah, come on, knock me down.”

Others haven’t been as magnanimous, but at least the Lions are putting out word that they’re prepared to fight fire with fire.

Anyone know much about Achilles injuries? I always thought an Achilles injury always ended up as a tear and out for the season. I've never really seen much on the other types of injuries to the Achilles that can happen.

Rothstein: What has happened over the past couple of weeks to turn this Tampa team around?

Yasinskas: The short answer is that the Bucs suddenly have gotten much better at finishing games, a huge problem early in the season. But it goes much deeper than that. Coach Greg Schiano has a reputation for being stubborn and inflexible. But he's changed in recent weeks. His mood has been lighter on the practice field and when he's met with the media. More importantly, he's adjusted some things on the field. He's stopped stunting so much on the defensive line, and that's created more straight-ahead rushes for defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Schiano has used cornerback Darrelle Revis in more man-to-man coverage after playing him in a lot of zone early in the season. The Bucs also have been running the ball much better, and that's a tribute to the offensive line.

Speaking of McCoy, he and Ndamukong Suh came out in the same draft, and early on, it looked like Suh clearly was the better player. But McCoy has been outstanding of late. What kind of a year is Suh having?

Rothstein: Suh's actual statistics are fairly pedestrian and wouldn't really stand out to anyone if they were just watching Detroit from afar. But he has faced a lot of double-teams throughout the season and has been somewhat consistent throughout the year. He played his best in the two games against Chicago -- four quarterback hurries in Week 10, two sacks in Week 4 -- but he and the rest of the Detroit defensive line almost inexplicably struggled to reach Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger this past Sunday.

Detroit has not blitzed much this season, putting a lot of pressure on the front four, starting with Suh.

That'll lead into my next question -- how has Mike Glennon been progressing this season, and how does he move when he is pushed in the pocket a little bit?

Yasinskas: Glennon has been a pleasant surprise. He was thrown into the lineup when Josh Freeman was benched, and he struggled at first. But Glennon has steadily improved and has been very good in recent weeks. He had only three incompletions in Sunday's victory over Atlanta. He's shown poise and leadership. Glennon's strength is his big arm, and the Bucs are trying to develop more of a deep passing game. They showed signs that's catching on when Vincent Jackson caught two long passes against the Falcons.

I first saw Glennon when I was covering the filming of "Gruden's QB Camp" this past spring. Watching Glennon's college tape, I thought he didn't have the mobility to succeed in the NFL. As it turns out, I was wrong. Glennon is not a running threat, but he's not a statue, either. He's been extending some plays by scrambling.

Speaking of deep passing games, the matchup I can't wait to see is Calvin Johnson against Revis. I saw the Lions-Steelers game, and it seemed like Johnson disappeared in the second half. What was all that about? Revis and Johnson went head-to-head in a 2010 game, and Johnson caught just one pass for 13 yards. Do you see Revis, with a little bit of help, being help to keep Johnson quiet?

Rothstein: It depends on what Tampa tries to do defensively. When teams have tried covering Johnson with single coverage, he's destroyed opponents. It happened a good amount against Dallas and early against Pittsburgh. It goes to the situation most teams have had to face this season -- do you double-team Johnson and give a lighter box to Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, or do you play single high to focus on Bell and Bush and put Johnson in lighter coverage?

That said, Revis is one of the best corners in the league -- something Stafford acknowledged Tuesday -- and it should be an intriguing matchup Sunday. Johnson likes going against the top corners in the league and has had some success this season in those matchups, notably against Arizona's Patrick Peterson (six catches, 116 yards, two touchdowns) and Dallas' Brandon Carr (14 catches, 329 yards).

One of the other ways teams have had success against Detroit is to pressure Stafford, which hasn't been easy this season. It goes back to that first question with McCoy, but is he the key to any pressure Tampa might get?

Yasinskas: McCoy is the central piece of the defensive line, and everything feeds off him. But he's not alone in the pass rush. End Adrian Clayborn has some pass-rush skills, and the Bucs have started lining up outside linebacker Dekoda Watson as a rush end. But the Bucs also like to use their linebackers as blitzers, and Lavonte David (five sacks) is a very good pass-rusher. But it all goes back to McCoy. The Bucs rely on him to push the quarterback off the spot, and the other players can clean up.

You mentioned Bush. At least from a distance, it seemed like he got himself in the doghouse by fumbling against Pittsburgh. Is Bush in good graces with the coaching staff, or will we see less of him Sunday?

Rothstein: Doghouse? No. But he needs to work on protecting the ball better and hanging on to it, period. He's struggled with drops all season and lost fumbles two of the past three weeks. He's too big a weapon for Detroit to move away from him -- especially at home -- but if he continues on this trend, Bell might steal some of his snaps.

Buccaneers at Lions: Stat of the Week wrote:

26

Quarters the Detroit defense has gone without allowing a rushing touchdown, the first time since at least 1950 the Lions have done this in a single season.

_________________

Quote:

Detroit vs. EverybodyClowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

November 21st, 2013, 1:50 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

rao wrote:

Anyone know much about Achilles injuries? I always thought an Achilles injury always ended up as a tear and out for the season. I've never really seen much on the other types of injuries to the Achilles that can happen.

A tendon can be bruised. It doesn't always have to be a tear or rupture. Those are just the injuries that get the most attention due to their severity.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

Anyone know much about Achilles injuries? I always thought an Achilles injury always ended up as a tear and out for the season. I've never really seen much on the other types of injuries to the Achilles that can happen.

A tendon can be bruised. It doesn't always have to be a tear or rupture. Those are just the injuries that get the most attention due to their severity.

Thanks, I must just have overlooked other times players have had similar injuries since they are not serious.

November 21st, 2013, 6:52 pm

jrd66

Mr. Irrelevant

Joined: February 10th, 2005, 6:52 pmPosts: 961Location: Linden, MI

Re: Next up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

all the good things Bush has given are a bit stained by his fumbling in my mind. This might not be fair, as I don't know how many times he's done it, but it seems too frequent to me. He's a great add, but he's not Barry. But, in reality, no one is.

The Pitt game I saw as a trap for sure, the writers look at the records and say 'the schedule is easy' but the truth is there are a bunch of high level QBs on the remaining schedule that can beat the Lions if they have a sloppy day. More trap games ahead in my mind. Winnable, but not to be taken lightly. Baltimore and NY to be sure, if not GB with Flynn. I'm not thinking the TB game is a trap. Aside from their DL, I perceive TB as kind of a mess.

Lions have not arrived as a team just yet to be sure about this game, but I am much less worried about this one than I was the last. I think they win here.